Things Not as They Seem
by OceanMist9
Summary: Remember Lizzie from Breaking Dawn? Well, she's back. She's a shape shifter and has imprinted on Jacob. Obviously, Jacob has imprinted on someone else. What will happen when secrets are revealed and ties are tested?
1. Car Chase

**Remember Lizzie? From Breaking Dawn? (If you have no idea who I'm talking about, see pages 333-335) Well, here she returns...to stalk Jacob!!! This is Misthorse writing, and having some fun with it, too. ;)**

**Disclaimer: In my dreams...**

Chapter One: Car Chase

_Jacob's POV:_

Why must these stupid little small town groceries not carry that one specific kind of baby formula? And why was Nessie so fussy? Oh, whatever. Already, I had been through three towns with no luck. I sighed, but remembering who I was getting the formula for in the first place cheered me up a little. Then I remembered the fact that I was using the Cullen's Vanquish again, and I grinned. Nothing makes the bloodsuckers give in like my puppy eyes. I snorted, because I knew the _real_ reason Edward had lent it to me was that he didn't want to leave Bella alone, even for the task of grabbing basic supplies. Couldn't even run errands for his own daughter, so he felt the need to bribe me into doing it. Not that I needed one. (A bribe, that is.) I rolled my eyes as I glided into Seattle. More store-hopping. Yippee.

_Lizzie's POV:_

I saw him coming out of a grocery store. It was that guy from the park a few weeks ago. My jaw dropped. The Vanquish itself was in the parking lot, too! I wasn't going to let him get away from me this time. So, I did what any other car loving gal would do. I revved up my red Corvette convertible and tailed Random Park Dude.

_Jacob's POV:_

I knew something was up what I got the uneasy feeling someone was watching me. I hate that feeling, and unfortunately, it's one I know all too well. Glancing in my rearview, I saw a Corvette directly behind me. Squinting hard, I could just make out a girl with reddish hair driving. I sped up, just to see if my suspicions were correct. The Corvette sped up, too. Oh, great. Maybe I was going too fast? I checked my speedometer. Nah, I was (surprisingly) within limit, so that wasn't it. Besides, unmarked police cars typically weren't red Corvettes. I took a left turn. The car behind me followed. I took another left, then a right, sped up, slowed. The Corvette stuck to me like a burr. Exasperated, I decided to do something I knew the car behind me wouldn't dare try. Especially with a girl driver. I stepped on the gas, hearing the Vanquish's engines hum louder as I went well over the speed limit, then hit the steering wheel and spun around into the next lane. I got some angry honks at my illegal U-turn, but I ignored them. All I could see was the convertible a few feet behind my back bumper. Geez, what was she, desperate? I broke into a sweat as I realized something. I was being tailgated by a stranger who seemed to know who I was. This was bad, but then again, that seems to be the theme to my life lately.

_Lizzie's POV:_

I knew he knew I was following him, but that didn't faze me. Carefully, I mirrored the Vanquish's moves, which, I will admit, was hard to do without evoking a crash. Suddenly, the guy from the park spun a majestic U-turn. My adrenaline level jumped a few notches.I had to hand it to him, that dude sure could handle a car. I smiled as I remembered asking him how the Vanquish rode. Well, now the Vanquish rode with a Corvette on its tail. And I, Lizzie Skylar, don't like to be outdone by anyone. Especially not guys. So, heart pounding excitedly, I whirled my little red car recklessly into the northbound lane after him. As I continued to follow him, however, my confidence faltered. Just what was, I doing, stalking some random stranger who could very possibly be an ex-convict? Or an axe murderer? One I'd suspected of stealing a very fancy, very expensive car? Yet still I pressed on. Something told me it was...meant to be. The faraway voices of my ancestors insisted. Not surprising, really, when you considered that six out of every seven with the Skylar name are born shape shifters. And in case you haven't gotten it yet, yes, I am one of the six per seven in that particular statistic. My confidence returned. I cruised on.


	2. And Here We Go Again

**Hi, this is Misthorse, reporting for duty! Sorry for such an excruciatingly long wait, but guess what? I finally got some good ideas for this story. Yay! *Happy writing dance***

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. Nothing at all.**

**Chapter Two**

_Jacob_

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled over, determined to find out just what the heck this chick wanted. As I cut the engine, I stomped out of my car and approached hers, pausing only a moment to notice her sweet ride. Of course, she'd pulled over, too. When I got to her window, I tapped on it irritably. She rolled it down and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out, I cut her off.

"Okay, lemme get something straight. I don't give out rides, I don't do pick me ups, I don't sell anything, and oh, just by the way, I DON'T LIKE BEING FOLLOWED BY TOTAL STRANGERS! " I shot at her. She just stared back at me like she was in a trance. I snapped my fingers in front of her face. She didn't even blink. I sighed. _Way to go, Jacob. You pick up weirdos_ _wherever you go, even human lunatics._ Frustrated, I stomped back to my car.

"Wait!" the girl called after me. I rolled my eyes and continued stomping. Suddenly, something tugged inside me. _Go back, _it seemed to say. Wait...who or what was "it"?! I shook my head angrily. Was this what the "voices" felt like or something? I snorted. I already have too many voices in my head-for example, Leah, Seth, and Quil, just to name a few. I didn't need any other ones. But still something urged me to go see what she wanted. I groaned and turned around, getting the feeling that this was way more trouble than it was worth.

_Lizzie_

He'd pulled over. Uh-oh. He didn't look too happy, either. Ah, well-Angry guys were my specialty-for example, Akron and Roy, just to name a few. As Random Park Dude came closer to me, I began to feel a stirring of nervousness. My cocky side shoved it away. But something was bothering me, like a missing puzzle piece. Shrugging it off, I rolled down my window in response to his tapping, and was about to come up with a good explanation for my persistent, well, stalking, when I met his eyes. All the words I was about to say vanished. Flew out the window. Shattered to bits. His eyes were all it took to start a war. The universe aligned. I felt dizzy, yet refreshed somehow, like my place in the world had just come into realization. When I finally snapped out of my star-struck daze, he was staring at me, looking at me like I was crazy. Except that I wasn't, of course. Or maybe I was. It didn't really matter. What did matter, however, was the fact Random Park Dude was making his exit. Frantic and not about to chase him across four lanes of traffic again, I called for him to wait. He kept going. I willed him to come back with every ounce of my being. Finally, after eternity seemed to stretch on, he turned and came back to me.

_Jacob_

I couldn't believe I was doing this. I sighed and stomped back to her car anyway.

"Okay, do you want a ride?" I asked reluctantly. The girl's face lit up. _Why am I doing this? _I asked myself for the thousandth time. _You shouldn't lead her on._ As the girl followed me back to Edward's shiny black vehicle, I took a good look at her. She was pretty, but nothing special. Reddish hair, fair freckled skin, cinnamon eyes. Wait. I'd seen her before. I scrunched up my forehead, trying to remember where.

"Something wrong?" the girl asked teasingly.

"Who are you?" I asked sharply. She looked taken aback at my voice. "Sorry, it's just...aw, never mind. What's your name?" I muttered in a more placating tone.

"Don't you remember?" Random Girl looked disappointed. "The park. A few months ago? I thought you'd stolen that car? Lizzie?" A wave of a flashback hit me. _Wandering around the park. Angry. Wanting Bella. _I let out a sarcastic laugh. Bad memories. But they were unimportant now.

"So you _did_ steal the car?" Lizzie looked triumphant. I realized it must have looked that way to her. And probably still did.

"Actually, I didn't. It's my, er, my friend's," I stammered. Lizzie just gave me a knowing giggle. I sighed. Then I remembered that Lizzie liked cars. A grin spread across my face.

"Let's go for a ride," I declared.

"I call driver!" Lizzie hollered. Wait...what?! The girl was supposed to call shotgun. But Lizzie obviously wasn't a normal girl. I mean, most girls couldn't tell a Mustang from an actual horse. Like Bella, for example. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, go ahead. I can always ask my...friend to let me drive it again sometime," I said. It felt weird getting in the passenger side. It reminded me of when I was young, when I used to excitedly climb into my dad's car when we would go on rides around La Push. Suddenly, the car I was in at the moment shot forward. Lizzie sure didn't mess around.

"Whooo!" she shrieked. "This is amazing! It rides really well," she said happily. She turned to me.

"So, what's _your_ name?" she asked. Wow. A girl who would get in a strange guy's car without even knowing their name first. She had sass, that was for sure.

_Lizzie_

The look on Random Park Dude's face when I'd called driver had been pretty funny, not to mention kinda hot. Well, I wasn't a normal girl. Passenger wasn't for me. I'd jumped into the Vanquish eagerly. I'd never driven one of these before. And believe me, I've driven a lot of cars. I was about to ask what he thought of the new Porshe when I realized I didn't even know his name. Oops.

"So, what's your name?" I asked. He paused for a minute, like he was thinking about something.

"Jacob," he finally replied.

"Couldn't remember your own name?" I laughed. He glared at me.

"Oooh, oohh, getting mad?" I winked at him teasingly. It was always so much fun to make guys irritated. But before he could think of a proper comeback, I noticed something. A pair of red and blue flashing lights were appearing in my rearview. Snap. I couldn't get another speeding ticket. They were really starting to know me over at that station. Jacob looked behind us, then got a glint in his eye.

"Step on it!" he yelled. I stepped. We flew.

**So, what did you think? Don't worry, there's more where that came from. If you'd like more, you'll just have to review!**


	3. Mixed Emotions

**Thanks for reviewing! A reward, CHAPTER THREE! OOOO and AHHH! **

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. Well, actually Sidnea, Holliz, Akron, and Roy are mine.**

**Chapter Three**

_Jacob_

I pulled into the Cullen's drive, pausing at the end of it. That had been quite the ride. Lizzie and me had spent twenty minutes jetting along back roads, finally shaking them off when I suggested pulling into the woods. We'd sat there for while, laughing and breathing hard. Then we'd talked, arguing over which was better, the Porshe or the Lamborghini. I decided I liked Lizzie. She was funny and sarcastic. Just my kind of girl. It was too bad that I'd never see her again, of course. I couldn't risk her finding out about my life. When she'd asked me about where I lived, I'd been vague, mentioning an Indian reservation but not telling her much of anything else. When she'd suggested we hang out sometime, I had just nodded, trying to look bored. But somehow I couldn't get her out of my mind. Her golden-red hair falling in gentle waves down her back. Her light brown eyes...I shook myself, angry for even thinking about her like that. Besides, what about Resnemee? The thought of Resnemee flooded me with a cool relief. Then I remembered that I was supposed to have been back hours ago. Uh oh. I had to find Bella.

* * * * * *

_Bella_

I was sitting in our house, reading, when I heard a quiet _thunk._ I got up and peeked out the window. It was Jacob. I opened the window and jumped down, landing softly.

"Hey, J..."

"Shhh!" he hissed.

"Um, okay?" I whispered. "What's the big secret?"

"Er, come with me," Jacob turned around and phased, running into the woods. I was a step behind him. The wolf stopped and glared at me.

"Oh, right." I turned around so I wouldn't see him phasing back.

"Okay, Bella, listen. You know how Edward can't read your mind, with your power voodoo and all?"

"Yeah..." I was suspicious.

"Can you put your, whatchacallit, on me? Block my mind from his or something?" He looked insistent.

"Sure, but why? And why were you gone so long?"

"Never mind that now. Do it, please!" Jake looked frustrated.

"Fine, but promise me something first."

_Jacob_

Oh, great. _Fine, BUT... _Of course there had to be a "but." Always a "but."

"But what?" I asked

"Promise me you'll tell me sometime." Bella crossed her arms. I sighed. This is what I get for trusting vampire gifts.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Can we just do this already?"

Bella closed her eyes and put her hands out. She looked deep in concentration for a few minutes, then a shimmering bubble descended on me. She opened her eyes, looking relieved.

"It worked!" she exclaimed.

"Of course it did. You and your gifts. Yay, yay. Round of applause. Okay, thanks," I said begrudgingly.

"So why do you need to hide your thoughts from Edward?"

"Nice try," I snorted.

"Gee, Jake, what's the matter? You're awfully sarcastic, even for you. And I know that means you've got something on your mind," Bella said.

"I said, NEVER MIND!" The air shimmered as I phased back into wolf form and took off, claws scrabbling at the hard dirt, wind ruffling through my fur. Why did these things always happen to me?

_Hey, Jake buddy! What's up?_ Great.

_Seth, not right now._

_Aw, man. You're no fun these days. Oooh. Who's Lizzie? Is that what's bothering you? Is that a girl? I thought you liked Nessie. Wait, you do like Nessie, right? Right? Jake? Hello?_

_GET OUT OF MY HEAD! _I felt the Alpha power surge through me. Seth recoiled from my thoughts, sounding sad even in my mind. My resolve broke.

_Sorry, Seth._ But he was gone, phased back into human. Dang. Now Seth was mad at me, Bella was suspicious, and I quite possibly liked someone besides my imprint. I decided to focus on that last one. Did I really like Lizzie? How was it even possible?

_Lizzie_

After Jacob had dropped me back off by my car, I climbed into it almost sadly. I already missed him, and it had only been a few minutes. I'd never liked someone this strongly before. I wondered what it meant. Unfortunately, I couldn't exactly like him. I had a family to care for. Well, what counted for a family in my life anyway. And there was the teeny problem of me being, well, a supernatural creature. If he saw me in my true form, he'd probably be revolted. Run away from me like I was some kind of demon. Like I was a freak who belonged in a zoo. I sighed. This was going to bring me down, I just knew it. I should have never called him back to me. I drove in silence, not even flicking my favorite radio station on like I usually did. When I got to the twin bent trees that marked my home, I ditched the car. It wasn't mine, anyway. It was, well, it was stolen.

* * * * *

When I got to the clearing, my family was waiting.

"Hey Liz!" my brother, my only living family member, called out.

"Hi Roy," I said without much enthusiasm. I nodded to Akron, who nodded back. He wasn't much of a talker. More of the strong silent type.

"Lizzie!" Sidnea hollered, hugging me tight. Holliz was right behind her, coming up to give me a hug as well. Sidnea, Holliz, Akron, and Roy were all shape shifters too. We were each other's only family. I knew my true last name was Skylar, because Roy had told me. He was a year older than me, but I was somehow the undisputed leader of the group. The rest of them had taken on the name Skylar because they didn't know who their real families were. I guess you could say we were sort of like one of those orphan bands who stick together because we don't have anyone else. None of us remembered much of our pasts. Either that or they didn't want to remember. I, for one, didn't have a clue. When I'd first phased, I'd been distraught. I didn't phase back for a long time. During those dark times, I began to forget who I was. I'll sometimes remember in my sleep. My memories, they haunt me in my dreams. My brother started talking, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"What'd you bring for us today?" That was my job, to go out and get us the necessary supplies for our makeshift camp. Today I'd brought necessities such as water bottles, some fruit, sandwiches, and a blanket for Holliz. She had a cold, it was cold out, and I knew she needed it.

"I think a more interesting question would be what kind of car you stole today," laughed Holliz. That was the other thing. I stole cars. I needed a way to get around, and sometimes my animal form wasn't fast enough. I wasn't proud of this, but I had to keep my group alive. I live, the band lives. That's how it was and that's how it'll probably always be. We usually tried to make light of it, but life was hard. That was just a fact we all had to live with.

"A red Corvette," I answered.

"Whoa, cool," Holliz answered. "Can I go for a ride with you one of these days? Please, please, please?"

"No. Absolutely not. I won't have you getting in trouble," I answered sternly. "Now everyone, shouldn't we get some sleep?" Akron, Holliz, and Sidnea retreated to the mossy beds they'd made for themselves. I watched as they phased. We usually slept as animals, it was easier that way. If anyone found us, sure, they'd probably think it was weird that an otter, a bear, two wolves, and a jay were together in the same space. Sidnea was the jay. She nestled into the pine tree above me, tucking her head under her wing. Seeing me watching, she chirped and winked. I almost laughed. I think she was the most comfortable with being a shape shifter than any of the rest of us. Holliz was the otter. Akron was the bear, a black one. Roy and me, the wolves, hadn't changed form yet.

"Liz, I know when something's up. Tell me about it," Roy looked into my eyes with concern. I sighed.

"Big bro, it's nothing, okay? Go to sleep, please. Have some water or something," I muttered grumpily.

"Are you feeling alright?" He felt my forehead with a silly grin. I pushed him away. I wasn't in the mood for his playfulness. Roy frowned, then shifted into wolf form. His red coat gleamed in the light of the moon as he lay down beneath the tree Sidnea nested in. I phased too, eager to not be human for a while. Even though Roy and me both had red hair in "real" life, my coat was snow white. I pointedly lay down a few paces away from my brother and turned my back to him, tucking my bushy tail around me.

_Liz. I know you aren't okay._ Did I mention that Roy and I are the only ones of the group who can share thoughts? Go, figure. I shut him out of my mind. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roy's red wolf ears droop. Frustrated, I closed my eyes and let myself drift off to the land of dreams.


End file.
